No Windows7 upgrade for Europe yet, but cheaper full version

As I’ve reported before, Microsoft, responding to a European Union antitrust investigation into the bundling of Internet Explorer with Windows, is releasing a version of Windows 7 there without the Web browser.

Microsoft made the decision so it could release Windows 7 worldwide on Oct. 22, not just in select areas. But the Europe de-bundling has put a snag in Microsoft’s Windows 7 upgrade offering there.

Because users who would be eligible for the Windows 7E (as it will be called in Europe) upgrade are only those who already have Windows Vista, and because Vista already came with IE, Microsoft can’t just offer an upgrade. The previously installed IE would come through, resulting in an indirect Windows 7E-Internet Explorer bundling.

That’s Microsoft’s thought, at least. Right now, the Redmond-based company seems to be playing it safe, operating on the educated assumption that the European Commission might not be inclined to allow a Windows 7E upgrade that results in the installation of Internet Explorer.

So what’s Microsoft doing to avoid turning a cold shoulder to its European customers?

It’s offering the full versions of Windows 7E at the lower price of the upgrades.

“We wanted to make sure that all of our customers got Windows 7 at the same time,” Brad Brooks, corporate vice president, said in an informational video. “And because of what needed to occur around testing of Windows 7E, it became very clear that we would not be able to offer a retail upgrade version of that piece of software on Oct. 22.

“We had a choice to make – either (that) we delayed the launch of Windows 7 in Europe or that we brought it all together and did something different. So, what we decided to do is do something different.”

The result is no penalty on its European Windows Vista users who want to upgrade to Windows 7.

But the real win? People who are using an older version of Windows – XP or (gasp) 95 – can get the full Windows 7 release at the upgrade price. The downside is that the full Windows 7 requires a complete hard-drive wipe and OS reinstall.

That’s the plan until at least Dec. 31. Microsoft is hoping to find a better solution by then, a Microsoft spokesperson said.

Translation: Microsoft would, of course, like to be able to charge Europeans the full price of Windows 7.

At this point, there are three major options on the table.

First, Microsoft could figure out a way to have the Windows 7E upgrade uninstall Internet Explorer (which, if you ask me, seems like a big pain in the neck for European customers). Second, Microsoft could work with the European Commission to see if a regular Windows 7E upgrade would be legal there. Or third, Microsoft could just continue to offer the discount.